Wednesday

The workshop, “Question, Persuade, Refer,” was offered by Jon Mattleman, a certified QPR trainer and former Needham Youth Services director. This workshop was the second offering by the town focused on preventing suicide. The first workshop, “Talk Saves Lives,” was held last September and was facilitated by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Both BoH and YFS have been concerned about the increased signs of stress and depression in Bedford, which replicate those in surrounding communities and the nation and are committed to offering solutions wherever possible. Educating citizens to ask, listen and intervene where concerns or ideation may exist is one such way.

Mattleman shared myths and data about suicide. Participants learned that suicide can be prevented, that people send warning signals to those closest to them and that anyone can intervene and save a life. Most suicidal people talk about their plans ahead of time, so the person closest to them is most likely to prevent a person dying. Mattleman shared the numbers of annual deaths by suicide both nationally — over 40,000 — and in Massachusetts — 600. Massachusetts has one of the lowest suicide rates due to comprehensive gun control practices, and those states with fewer firearm restrictions have much higher rates.

Mattleman discussed the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from 2017 related to bullying, depression, self-injury and suicidal ideation and compared that to the 2018 Bedford YRBS data, which has just been released and is posted on http://bedfordma.gov/youth under “Youth Risk Behavior Survey.”

Bedford’s rates of bullying and cyberbullying at both the middle school and high school levels are comparable to the state rates and between 15 percent and 20 percent. The rates of depression, self-injury and ideation are a bit lower but still of concern. Rates of reported depression are 15 percent, or 82 students, at JGMS and 28 percent, or 128 students, at BHS. The number of students who considered suicide was 60 at JGMS and 98 at BHS, the number of students who made a plan was 33 at JGMS and 85 at BHS and the number of students who actually attempted were five at JGMS and 20 at BHS. Mattleman discussed his history dealing with youth suicides in Needham and how fortunate Bedford has been to date compared to surrounding communities.

Participants at the training reviewed situational clues that might predispose a person to consider suicide, like loss of a relationship or job, serious illness or the death of a loved one, as well as tips for questioning, persuading and referring people who might be at risk. Key takeaways for several participants were listening techniques designed to elicit conversation with someone struggling with suicidal ideation like “tell me more” and persuading techniques involving asking if they would go get help if the listener went along.

Mattleman’s presentation was held two days before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that death by suicide increased 3.7 percent in 2017 and it rounds out the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. Again in 2017, death by suicide along with the other top nine causes, contribute to a decline in overall U.S. life expectancy.

“These results are unsettling, but we recognize that local attention needs to be brought to this and other important health promotion and disease prevention topics,” Health Director Heidi Porter said. “BoH and YFS view our role as providers of prevention resources, training and health promotion programming and strive to be responsive to the community’s needs.”

Materials from Mattleman’s presentation can be viewed under the programs tab on the BoH website, http://bedfordma.gov/health.

Information and resources can be found on American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website, http://afsp.org.

For information, contact Board of Health at 781-275-6507 or Youth and Family Services at 781-275-7727.